Press freedom

Australia has become the world’s first nation to make digital companies such as Facebook and Google pay domestic news outlets for their content. Parliament approved the law Thursday that would allow a government arbitrator to decide the price a digital company should pay news outlets if the two sides fail to reach an agreement. The final legislation includes a set of amendments as part of an agreement reached Tuesday between the Australian government and Facebook. The amendments include a two-month mediation period that would give social media giants and news publishers extra time to broker agreements before they are forced to abide by the government’s provisions. The agreements ended a stalemate that prompted Facebook to block all Australian news content last week, preventing them from being viewed or shared. The websites of several public agencies and emergency services were also blocked on Facebook, including pages that include up-to-date information on COVID-19 outbreaks, … [Read more...] about Australia Approves Law to Make Facebook and Google Pay to Carry News Content

Sen. Ted Cruz Rafael (Ted) Edward Cruz John Boehner tells Cruz to 'go f--- yourself' in unscripted audiobook asides: report Huawei backs supply chain security standards in wake of SolarWinds breach The Memo: Biden faces first major setback as Tanden teeters MORE (R-Texas) has hired Trump campaign press aide Erin Perrine Erin Perrine Cruz hires Trump campaign press aide as communications director Fox anchor presses Trump aide on indoor rally: 'This goes against the president's own administration guidelines' MORE as his new communications director. Perrine most recently was director of press communications for former President Trump Donald Trump Donald Trump Jr. calls Bruce Springsteen's dropped charges 'liberal privilege' Schiff sees challenges for intel committee, community in Trump's shadow McConnell says he'd back Trump as 2024 GOP nominee MORE ’s 2020 reelection campaign. Before that, she had stints with the … [Read more...] about Cruz hires Trump campaign press aide as communications director

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) called his state an “oasis of freedom” on Friday during his speech to CPAC. The governor, who has followed a strategy of remaining open during the coronavirus pandemic, welcomed attendees from across the country to the Sunshine State. “We are an oasis of freedom in a nation that’s suffering in many parts of the country under the yoke of oppressive lockdowns,” DeSantis said. “We see schools closed, businesses shuttered, and lives destroyed,” he said. The governor contrasted his strategy with others left unnamed, likely meaning New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), among others. “And while so many governors over the last year had kept locking people down, Florida lifted people up,” DeSantis said to cheers. He argued the state is stronger and residents are “happier” because of the strategy. “Florida got it right and the lockdown states got it wrong,” DeSantis declared, … [Read more...] about Gov. Ron DeSantis: Florida ‘Oasis of Freedom’ in Country of Lockdowns

This month, Britain and Japan, the two most powerful offshore island nations on the Eurasian continent, undertook to strengthen a special relationship that they established over a century ago. In January 1902, the two countries agreed to a formal alliance, an arrangement whose scope was twice expanded, first in 1905 and again in 1911. The alliance’s objective was clear: They sought to contain Russian expansion in China. The current agreement again focuses on those countries, though it is China, rather than Russia, that the British and Japanese view as the primary threat to their security. The earlier treaties specifically provided for mutual defense, which led to Japan’s entering World War I on the side of the Allies. The current agreement does not go that far, but it does echo similar sentiments. Britain’s foreign and defense secretaries, Dominic Raab and Ben Wallace, and their Japanese counterparts, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, announced … [Read more...] about Britain is back in Asia, sending a message to Beijing

The organization behind the annual Golden Globes awards said it will add black members to its ranks following criticism that the group doesn’t have any black voters among its 87 current members. “We are fully committed to ensuring our membership is reflective of the communities around the world who love film, TV and the artists inspiring and educating them,” the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. (HFPA) said in a statement sent to multiple news outlets late Thursday. “We understand that we need to bring in Black [sic] members, as well as members from other underrepresented backgrounds, and we will immediately work to implement an action plan to achieve these goals as soon as possible.” A spokesperson for the HFPA said its membership is majority female and that 35 percent of its members are from non-European countries. The HFPA still hasn’t said if it will clean up its long-standing practices that have made the Golden Globes the butt of jokes for years. The organization continues … [Read more...] about Golden Globes Organizer Will Add Black Members Following Backlash over Lack of Diversity